Archbishop Makarios of Australia was declared an honorary citizen of the Greek city of Larissa in a ceremony that took place on Saturday, May 13.
The ceremony took place at the Town Hall of the city of Larissa in the presence of the Mayor of Larisa, Apostolos Kalogiannis, and Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larissa and Tyrnavos. Political and military officials, as well as academics and institutions of the city were also present.
According to thessaliatv, the Larissa Mayor welcomed Archbishop Makarios to the city and praised him for his hard work in Australia.
“Australia may be on the other side of the world, but your reputation trumps distance. Your ministry in the last four years at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, your excellent pastoral work and your brilliant path in the bosom of Orthodoxy, testify to a personality dedicated to people and giving,” the Mayor said.
For his part, Archbishop Makarios, who is connected to Larissa after having been a visiting professor at the Medical School of Larissa of the University of Thessaly, thanked the members of the local Municipal Council and the Mayor of Larissa.
“I dedicate this honour to the thousands of Greeks in Australia,” the Archbishop said.
Archbishop Makarios also spoke warmly of the people of Larissa and said “Larissa and Australia share common elements of identity, they are crossroads of peoples, cultures and ideas.”
Source: thessaliatv
